Mitt Is It In Iowa

The Iowa caucuses are now over and Mitt Romney has won with a slight edge of 8 votes over Rick Santorum. They both recieved 25% of the votes with Romney having 30,015 and Santorum coming in second with 30,007 votes. Ron Paul (26,219, 20%) and Newt Gingrich (16,251, 13%) finished in 3rd and 4th place respectively.  Rick Perry has decided to head back to his state of Texas so that he can reevaluate his campaign strategy (CNN). Another swing for Romney may come in the Massachusetts caucus as Senator and former Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has lent his endorsement (Kasie Hunt, AP).

The winner of the Iowa caucuses does not necessarily win the nomination. There is so much buzz around this caucus simply because they are the first and biggest of the new year so far. Next is New Hampshire and South Carolina. South Carolina being the most important because in the past, whoever has won South Carolina has gone on to win the nomination. You can be sure that all the candidates that even think that have a chance will be riding on a good showing in my former home state.

In the overall scheme of delegates needed for the nomination Mitt Romney is ahead with 18, while Rick Santorum is in second place with 8 (CNN). The race so far is as follows:

Mitt Romney 18
Rick Santorum 8
Ron Paul 7
Rick Perry 4
Newt Gingrich 2
Michelle Bachmann 0
Jon Huntsman 0

From the looks of things the early front runners are Romney and Santorum but it is a long way to the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination. It is still early and anyone's race to win.

Oh Mr. Cain...

Okay so whether you've been following the election or not I'm sure you've heard this developing story. Apparently back in the 90's Herman Cain sexually harassed a number of women. At first I didn't really believe it because of the way the story came out. It was an anonymous story from anonymous women during an unspecified time. I mean how vague can you be? So he apparently harassed some unknown women by saying some unknown things at an unknown time. Confusing right?

At first I just brushed it off. Then the first woman came out and added some legs to the story. I began to think 'hmm... Maybe he did do something.' Her story opened up more questions for me than answers. Why did she choose Gloria Alred as her lawyer. Don't get me wrong she may be a great person but lately she have only defended the worst of the worst (like Tiger Woods' 20,000th jumpoff). Another flag was that she didn't tell anyone about this until now? Really? I mean you held on to this since the 90's and didn't tell a soul until be decides to run for president? How can you remember something that happened so long ago with such vivid detail?

I'm not saying that she or any of the other women are lying or bending the truth but I always have my doubts when people come out years later to say something happened to them. Especially when the accusers is trying to accomplish something. It always wreaks of something even more dishonest.

While these women may have been sexually harassed why wait so long to say something? That's all I would like to know. Why not say something right then and there to stop this from happening to the next woman? That is what its all about right?

I'm just sayin'
Sincere

Published on the go via blogger for android

GOP: Herman Cain

After a recent conversation with a friend, I decided to take a closer look at Herman Cain. I really didn’t look at him in my eyes as a possible likely winner for the GOP candidacy. I even took a look at some polls, according to CNN/ORC International Polls 34% of Republicans and Independents say that Cain is the most likeable candidate in the race. Also 33% say Cain is most likely to get the economy moving, especially since the reveal of his 9-9-9 Tax Reform Plan. Note: this is just for how likeable a candidate is, not actually a reflection of how likely he is in topping the GOP candidates.

Cain was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a degree in Mathematics and a Masters in Computer Science, which I find pretty impressive. He worked for the Navy developing fire control systems for ships and fighter planes. He later continued his career in the business realm moving from companies such as Coca Cola to Pillsbury Company gaining experience. While with Pillsbury he became Vice President for the Burger King Division. He later became the President and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. His success got him the title of President of the National Restaurant Association where his political advocacy begun. He has even played substantial roles with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The only political race Cain has run was for 2004 to take the Senate seat of Senator Zell Miller. Although he lost he took 26% of the vote. Everyone seems to have a curiosity about Cain and the fact he isn’t a known “politician” is probably one of the reasons he has become one of the top tier candidate in the race for GOP candidates.

Articles about Herman Cain
Why Herman Can't Be President
9 Questions for Hermain Cain's 9-9-9 Plan
Pizza Magnate Herman Cain Has Extensive Ties To Powerful Koch Group

9-9-9 Plan Explained

Okay so if you've been following politics lately then I'm sure you've heard of Herman Cain's "9-9-9 Tax Plan". Essentially it is a fair tax plan in which the business flat tax is 9%, individual flat tax is 9% and sales flat tax is 9%. Everyone gets taxed at the same rate and we all win. Sounds pretty simple and straight forward right? Wrong.

Actually under this plan the brunt of the taxes will still be paid by lower income households. While the full details of this plan have not been revealed, going off of face value lower income homes that are usually exempt from taxes (46% last year) will now pay 9% while people that make over $1 million annually will see their tax contribution lower from an average of 18% to 9%. Essentially the rich will pay less while the poor will pay more. now you tell me how this is fair? Not to mention the sales tax will increase to 9%, on top of the current state and local sales tax, means that consumer goods will cost more. you know those nice credits that we get like earned income tax credits or child tax credits? yeah, those are as good as gone with this plan. Everything is a strict 9% across the board.

now this is not to say that this plan cannot work somehow. The full details of the plan have not been revealed so it may be more sophisticated then it seems on the surface. As of now this plan is shown as a way for the rich to remain rich while the poor pick up the slack. For more info on Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan you may visit the following sites:

Politicofact.com
NYtimes.com
Hermancain.com

Politifact Grades: Mitt Romney and Ron Paul (GOP)

I had a chance to read over New York Times blog “Five Thirty Eight” and came across an interesting article; “A Look at Politifact Grades of Candidates.” It took a look as the scores of 2012 Republican Presidential Candidates. Politifact is actually a Pulitzer Prize winner for its great look at political data.

Based on Politifact Grades, two candidates seem to score the highest and are people we should definitely keep an eye on. No matter what party you belong to you should try to know a little about what’s going on each side of the table. The two candidates I think you should keep your eye on are Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. The candidates with the most truthful statements based on Poltifact are Paul with Romney only one point behind. Also a close third is Rick Perry whom had a lesser percentage of truthful statements; Perry had the most half true statements and second place for most true statements.

I will take a short look at Mitt Romney and Ron Paul and give you a few more resources to read.

Ron Paul
Ron Paul has actually been a crowd favorite for many years, definitely at my extremely liberal college. He actually has always been one of GOP members, who made sense rather you agreed or not with him. Ron Paul is a candidate for limited, constitutional government with low taxes and Free Markets being of the utmost importance. Check out Laura Trice’s article on Dr. Ron Paul’s 11 point Plan to Save America. It really doesn’t get any more plain than that article. Dr. Ron Paul is actually a medical doctor by education turned politician. He began his life in politics after studying Austrian School Economists (I will definitely write on Austrian Economists) in the 1970s. He’s currently is a Member of the House of Representatives from Texas’s 22nd District.

Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney is a business man by trade turned politician. His first public office run was in 1994 for U.S. Senate, which he lost. He was later the 70th Governor of Massachusetts. Mitt’s stance focuses on jobs, fiscal responsibility, healthcare and foreign policy. Check out his plan as well as 59 Point Economic Plan, which he feels he can create 11 million jobs in four years.